Indoor unit of an air conditioner

Abstract

An air conditioner may provide a fan housing assembly that moves in the front-rear direction by the operation of an actuator, and the fan housing assembly moves so as to pass through a front outlet arranged on a door assembly to be in a projected state, and the front end of the fan housing assembly protrudes further to the front than the front surface of the door assembly; and through the projected state, may provide conditioned air by a direct air flow to a long-distance target region. The configuration may enable the minimization of interference between the discharged air and the door assembly, and the minimization of flow loss of the discharged air since, when the fan housing assembly is in the projected state, a steering grill is in a state of protruding to the outside of the door assembly by passing through the front outlet.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An air conditioner, comprising:
 a case including a suction inlet and a discharge outlet configured to allow an inner space of the case and an indoor space to communicate with each other; 
 a guide housing disposed in the inner space of the case and including a guide housing suction inlet into which heat-exchanged air is introduced; 
 a fan housing assembly movably disposed at the guide housing to move in a forward and rearward direction, the fan housing assembly including a fan suction inlet communicating with the guide housing suction inlet, and configured to discharge the air suctioned from the fan suction inlet to the discharge outlet; and 
 an air guide configured to guide the air suctioned from the guide housing suction inlet to the fan suction inlet, made of an elastic material, and configured to expand or contract based on the fan housing assembly movement in the forward and rearward direction, 
 wherein a guide housing suction inlet diameter is greater than a fan suction inlet diameter. 
 
     
     
       2. The air conditioner of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first air guide bracket configured to fix a rear end of the air guide to the guide housing; and 
 a second air guide bracket configured to fix a front end of the air guide to the fan housing assembly. 
 
     
     
       3. The air conditioner of  claim 2 , wherein the first air guide bracket comprises:
 a bracket body; and 
 a bracket fastener disposed at the bracket body, and configured to protrude from the bracket body, 
 wherein a diameter of the bracket body is less than a diameter of an air guide inlet defined at a rear side of the air guide, and greater than a diameter of the guide housing suction inlet. 
 
     
     
       4. The air conditioner of  claim 3 , wherein the guide housing comprises a rear wall including the guide housing suction inlet,
 wherein the rear end of the air guide passes through the guide housing suction inlet and is disposed at a back surface of the rear wall, 
 the bracket body presses against the rear end of the air guide to allow the rear end of the air guide to contact the rear wall, and 
 the bracket fastener is partially inserted into a first bracket installation portion disposed at the back surface of the rear wall. 
 
     
     
       5. The air conditioner of  claim 2 , wherein the fan housing assembly comprises a rear fan housing including the fan suction inlet, and a second bracket installation portion disposed further outwards than the fan suction inlet, and
 the second bracket installation portion includes a rib extending from a back surface of the rear fan housing rearwards and outwards, and includes, at an outer side thereof, a groove into which the second air guide bracket is inserted. 
 
     
     
       6. The air conditioner of  claim 1 , further comprising a heat exchange assembly disposed in the inner space of the case, and disposed at a front of the suction inlet,
 wherein the guide housing comprises: 
 an upper guide housing disposed at a front of the heat exchange assembly, and including the guide housing suction inlet; and 
 a lower guide housing assembled to the upper guide housing, and configured to guide the movement of the fan housing assembly in the forward and rearward direction. 
 
     
     
       7. The air conditioner of  claim 6 , wherein the upper guide housing comprises a rear wall defining the guide housing suction inlet, and having a width greater than a left-right width of the heat exchange assembly. 
     
     
       8. The air conditioner of  claim 7 , wherein the lower guide housing comprises:
 a housing base disposed under the fan housing assembly; 
 a left side wall extending upward from an edge of a left side of the housing base; 
 a right side wall extending upward from an edge of a right side of the housing base; and 
 a housing rear wall connecting the housing base, the left side wall and the right side wall, and disposed at rear side of the housing base, the left side wall and the right side wall, 
 wherein an upper end of the housing rear wall has a same contour as the guide housing suction inlet. 
 
     
     
       9. The air conditioner of  claim 6 , wherein the fan housing assembly comprises:
 a rear fan housing including the fan suction inlet and disposed at the upper guide housing; 
 a fan disposed in front of the rear fan housing, and configured to discharge the air suctioned from the fan suction inlet in a diagonal direction; and 
 a front fan housing disposed in front of the rear fan housing, coupled to the rear fan housing, and disposed in front of the fan, and configured to guide the air pressurized by the fan in the diagonal direction. 
 
     
     
       10. The air conditioner of  claim 1 , wherein the fan suction inlet and the guide housing suction inlet are parallel with each other, and disposed to face each other.